


Kingdom of Flowers

by Morphfang



Category: Bleach
Genre: Flowers, Fluff, M/M, slight Aishin in beginning, soft bastard babies
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-06-01
Updated: 2020-06-01
Packaged: 2021-03-02 19:14:45
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,518
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24491863
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Morphfang/pseuds/Morphfang
Summary: Shinji never understood flower crowns.
Relationships: Hirako Shinji/Kurosaki Ichigo
Kudos: 99





	Kingdom of Flowers

Shinji never got the whole flower crown thing.

Sure he got the appeal of it, how could he not with how often Ukitake and Shunsui gifted each other with one, but he just couldn't understand why. It made him roll his eyes whenever he walked down the street and saw couples giggling and dropping one of the floral creations onto the other's head.

It was stupid. What even was the point giving such a thing to your lover? It was just going to wilt and die anyway. And weren't gifts supposed to represent your love for the other? Why get them something that decayed so quickly when you could give them something infinitely more useful, like a knife. He shook his head. He just couldn't wrap his mind around it.

He had been in the middle of filling out a mission report when an unfamiliar weight was placed on his head. Reaching up, he felt the familiar texture of the flowers that grew around the barracks. He narrowed his eyes and turned towards the only other occupant of the room. Aizen's smile, while still smug, was softer. There actually seemed to be some kind of emotion in his eyes.

"It looks good on you Hirako-taichou."

He hummed. "Does it? Perhaps I should keep it on then." The brunette's smile grew, even if barely.

"Perhaps."

After that, flowers were a common sight in Shinji's hair. Aizen seemed to enjoy braiding flowers into his hair and placing crowns upon his head.

There were no more flowers to be seen in Shinji's hair after the betrayal.

The first time it happened was the day before Ichigo broke into Hueco Mundo. Love and Rose were hanging out in the latter's room reading manga, Hachi and Lisa were shopping, Kensei was chasing Mashiro around the training grounds with Hiyori watching the whole thing. Apparently Hiyori had bought something called a Bop-It and gave it to the green haired girl. Mashiro had annoyed Kensei with it, not a hard thing to do, and now he was trying to take it away from her. Shinji himself was sitting on the couch reading one of the few books that he had collected from his time in the living world.

So it had been a normal day, until he felt something plop onto his head. He could see the ends of leaves and the edges of petals when he looked up at Ichigo.

"What's with the flowers?"

"You looked sad. So I thought I'd give something to cheer you up."

"Huh, okay. And why did ya think it would cheer me up?" The redhead shrugged.

"It works on my sisters."

"How old are they?"

"Eleven."

"Yeah, well I'm not eleven. I'm nearly five hundred, kid." Ichigo cocked his head to the side.

"Then why do you look happier?"

The blonde opened his mouth, closed it, and refocused his attention onto his book, adamantly ignoring the blush that was crawling up his neck, and grumbled out a quiet, "Damn brat."

He didn't know why the soft laughter from the other made him feel warm, or why he kept the crown on. He brushed off the looks and questions of his fellow Visored and refused to admit just how his stomach filled with dread when Ichigo left to retrieve Orihime the next day.

The second time it happened was a week after the whole mess with Ginjou, during a particularly busy day. The paperwork in his office seemed to double every five minutes. Shinji was sporting a scowl that could easily be on par with one of Ichigo's. Momo wasn't doing much better, constantly running from his office and out again. He's honestly surprised her legs haven't gone out yet.

He's hunched over, reviewing a report that was written in such a way that he had to double check every sentence because _did this person even know how to write properly_ , when a familiar weight settles on his head. He looked up to see Ichigo.

"You'll hurt your back if you sit like that, old man." He grinned at the younger man.

"Ah, damn whippersnapper! Such impudence! I'll hit ya with my cane!" He chuckled and shook his head. "How're ya doin'? Ya need somethin' or are ya just droppin' by?"

"Just stopped by to say hi. We haven't had a chance to talk since Ginjou." Shinji hummed thoughtfully before motioning for the other male to sit.

"Well no time like the present. And havin' some company would be nice, especially with all this damn paperwork." He tilted his head and gave his best puppy-eyes, "Distract me from this mess."

The redhead smiled softly, his eyes bright with amusement, before answering.

"I don't see any reason not to."

  
  


The third time Ichigo placed a crown on his head had been during the anniversary of Ywach's death. There had been countless flowers booths lining the street they were walking down, ranging from common roses to exotic hybrids. Ichigo had left him at a fireworks booth, not that he had noticed. He had been looking at a clump of small firecrackers and envisioning the chaos he could create. Next thing he knew, Ichigo was spinning him around and placing a crown made of soft pastel pink, purple, and blue on his head. The redhead chuckled at his wide-eyed expression. Hirako couldn't help but smile at the taller male.

"Brat." Ichigo just smirked.

"Whatever you say old man." They stared at each other for a couple seconds before they both busted out laughing.

It had been three weeks since then and Hirako was at the end of his rope. His newest creation was falling apart in his hands. He really wasn't good at this. He threw the thing out, huffing. How annoying.

Well, he wasn't known for giving up on something once he got it in his mind to do it. He'd just have to get someone to teach him.

Turns out that someone was the Hanatarou. The timid healer was one of the few shinigami who Ichigo trusted enough to vent too. Apparently he had joined Ichigo's team when they first broke into the Seireitei. The healer was extremely patient and had no problem with explaining things in more detail if asked to.

Momo had joined during the second session. She patted him on the back when she completed hers and had offered small words of encouragement.

"It isn't falling apart as much as your first one." He decided against pointing out that this was his twenty-third attempt. Even Hanatarou kept his mouth shut about that.

The two younger shinigami had bought him a bottle of champagne when he finally created one he considered 'satisfactory.'

He found Ichigo sitting on one of the small hills that overlooked the Shiba gardens. His eyes were closed and there was a smile on his face, he was enjoying the breeze and the warmth of the setting sun. Shinji found himself hesitating, if only for a second, before he approached the other male. The redhead's eyes slowly slid open to look at him. He grinned.

"Hey Shinji."

"Hey Ichi-berry~" Ichigo rolled his eyes at the annoying nickname, but didn't scowl like he would've with anyone else. Funny how he was just now noticing that. "Got somethin' fer ya."

"Hm?"

He dropped the crown onto the sitting male's head. A halo of camellias, orchids, tulips, and jonquils sat proudly on soft messy tangerine locks. Amber eyes widened, his mouth flickered to a shocked frown before breaking into a smile, a soft pink blush on his cheeks. Ichigo gently took the crown off his head, inspected it, and placed it back on his head. He looked pleased. It made Shinji feel warm as he flopped down beside him.

"I'm surprised that somethin' as simple as a flower crown is so hard to make."

"Is this why you've been hanging out with Hana?" He winced.

"Ah, busted." He whined and pulled his legs against his chest, encircling them with his arms and hiding his face in them.

"It's beautiful."

His head snapped up to stare at Ichigo, eyes wide and heat crawling up his neck. The redhead was weaving his own crown with an unfair amount of ease. Soon Ichigo's crown was complete and light blue was softly placed on gold, tan fingers brushed through his bangs and rested on the smaller male's jaw.

Ichigo's eyes shined like molten gold in the dying light, his long sunset mane illuminated by the actual sunset punctuated by the colors of his crown, a soft smile on his face. Shinji found that he couldn't look away.

"Ya look like a king." The soft laugh was like music to his ears. The redhead leaned down and pressed his head against the blonde's.

"Well, a king needs a queen." He smirked, "Would you be mine?"

Shinji grinned, "How am I supposed to argue with such infallible logic?" The redhead huffed, amused. "But only if ya agree ta share our rule equally." 

"Of course. Would you like to watch the sunset with me, my queen?"

"How can I refuse?" Ichigo's lips tasted like power.


End file.
